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The unemployed need not apply. That is the message being broadcast by many of the nation's employers, making it even more difficult for 14 million jobless Americans to get back to work.

To change perceptions about your employment status, start with the way you network. When you have been out of work for a while, people in your network may feel guilty because they are employed and you are not, says Lavie Margolin, a career coach in New York City and author of "Lion Cub Job Search." You don't want them to feel sorry for you or to see you as defeated, so make sure you have something to offer them, whether it's sharing an article in a trade magazine, talking about an industry blog or mentioning a professional opportunity they may not know about, he says.

"Short of becoming a reality TV star, the answer is rote and, some would argue, rather knee-jerk: Earn a college degree. "

"The last three men nominated to the Supreme Court have all been married and, among them, have seven children. The last three women - Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Harriet Miers (who withdrew) - have all been single and without children. "

WHAT if you're not happy in your job? Is it possible that you're in the wrong career entirely?

ON a recent Monday evening in the basement of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Brooklyn Heights, a group of seven local residents gathered to discuss their faith - in the job market. One woman, who had been laid off from a high-powered job at a local hedge fund, sought advice about the benefits of accepting part-time work. Another participant, a man who had worked more than a decade in the technology industry, wondered aloud whether switching fields would be wise.

DENNIS PALUMBO, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist who treats many artists and other creative types, says his patients previously tended to talk about problems like writer's block, procrastination and fear of rejection.

ALAN KENNEDY, 54, had never used social networking sites until he was laid off from his job as an engineer last November. Then he did what many job seekers are now advised to do: he set up profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn.

IN an environment of rapidly rising unemployment, scores of managers and executives have had doctor-as-patient, "aha" moments, as they find themselves among the millions of American workers looking for new jobs.

Q. You're a recent college graduate getting ready for the working world. Can your college wardrobe make the transition with you?

MY last column, about the best way to use the Web to find a job, got an enormous response - a reflection of our economic times, I recognize, rather than my deathless prose. While many people agreed with the premise of the article (and some vehemently did not), one question popped up several times. It was about my assertion that searching online was great, but that nothing beats face-to-face contacts.

Q. A growing number of colleagues have requested to connect with you on social networking Web sites. You have mixed feelings about giving these professional contacts a window into your personal life. What should you do?

If you have avoided social-networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook with the excuse that they are the domain of desperate job hunters or attention-seeking teenagers, it's time to reconsider.

OPRAH WINFREY granted pop superstardom in April not to another fraudulent memoirist, but to Twitter, the online social network that has lured both Hollywood celebrities and basement amateurs away from their blogs.